Several years ago, I wrote a post about why we should seriously consider open air work. I very much stand by what I wrote there. So, I thought it might be worth sharing it again.
The only caveat I might add is a question about best use of resources. In a small church like mine, you have to ask how we can best utilise the resources we’ve been given. That includes the human and time resources available to us. Inevitably, we have to make choices about which ministries we will continue and which we simply don’t have the resources to run as well.
In our context, relationships are really vital. Even though – as you will see from the picture below – we have done open airs in Oldham town centre, we tend to want to prioritise modes of outreach that allow us to build up ongoing relationships. Contextually, relationships are key to the gospel getting a proper hearing here. Whilst we used to run open airs, and they were excellent for local presence and for engaging with some folks we wouldn’t otherwise reach, we haven’t done them for a while because we don’t have the personnel to run them alongside everything else. In the end, we determined that means of developing relationships in which we could share the gospel were a higher priority in our context that would bear more fruit.
Nevertheless, I suspect in a different context I would make open airs a priority. Particularly in those contexts where long-term relationships are less significant. I have lived in some such contexts and, in those places, simply getting among people and being able to present anything of the gospel is a key priority. In certain places, the intellectual credibility and answer of best fit are the driving factors rather than specific relationships. In these areas, I would make open airs a priority.
As I say, despite my caveat, if I had more resources and people, I would gladly go out and do open airs in Oldham town centre again. Nothing in the article below has changed. If the right people with a heart for this kind of work came to join us, I would certainly be keen to do them again. I am a big believer in any godly means possible to save some, knowing that what serves one may not work so well for another. As part of a wider tranche of gospel work, I think open airs are a pretty good and worthy part of a wider evangelistic and missional package.